The Bloodiest Classic
by TectonicPlatez
Summary: Kairi wakes up in the middle of nowhere, naked and alone. She doesn't know that she's landed right in the middle of a nightmarish Wonderland. Can Kairi fend off the horrors of Wonderland, resist the tragic fate of Alice, and defeat the Red Queen before she too, goes insane? What is she forgetting? And who is behind it all? (gore, disturbing images) BadassKairi! KaiRoxas
1. Meeting 'Alice'

_"The edge, there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."_  
_Hunter S. Thompson_

~Oh, So You're Alice?~

In.  
Out.  
In.  
**In...**

And just like that, she was gone. She could barely remember ever being there.

Eyes snap open.

A car.

Yeah, it had been a car. She was driving home from school with someone...they were going to the islands again, it had been so long. School was on the mainland. They were driving to the beach...

The truck. She remembered now. She had looked out of her window at the sound of the sirens to see a large, red fire truck.

Thinking about it, it seemed so silly, a fire truck...but she remembered how much larger and more menacing it seemed when it was speeding straight towards her. The truck had flown straight into her side of the car.

There was something missing to the picture, but the more she tried to remember, the foggier things became. A groan escaped her chapped lips.

Kairi ached.

It was freezing out here, her limbs trembling. She could feel the dirt and woodchips digging into her bare skin. The tiny hairs on her arms stood up from the chill.

Fingers digging into the dirt she lay on, she strained to stand. Slowly, very slowly, she rose onto her feet. Leaves fell from her rustled hair, joining the dead ones on the forest floor.

"Where _am_ I?"

Her voice came out strained and painfully, echoing around the forest.

'_Wait, a forest?_' she thought. Pangs struck inside of her skull, and Kairi groaned at it all. Where the hell was she?

She looked around, growing more and more wary.

"Why am I in a forest? Shouldn't I be in the hospital?" she swayed unsteadily, nearly falling before she could catch herself.

The frost nipped at her goosebumped skin, making her wrap her shivering arms around herself to stop the shaking It was so cold here.

Where was here?

"Am I hurt? No... The truck hit me in that intersection-so where's the road? Where are all the cars and people?"

She turned in circles, taking in her environment. What had happened to her? Where _was_ everyone?

"Wait...where are my clothes?"

Looking down, she confirmed her lack of clothing and the cause for her chills. She was completely naked.

For a moment, she was glad no one was around to see this.

Holding herself tightly, Kairi began walking. She didn't know where she was going, or where she had been, but starting somewhere seemed like a good idea.

The trees began to close in on her, growing closer and closer to one another. The fear and confusion began to form a tight ball in her gut. It was silly, trees didn't move, she knew that.

A branch snapped somewhere behind her.

She was running now, nudity be damned, because she was sure that the trees were moving in on her now.

_'I'm going crazy,'_ she thought frantically.

Her footsteps grew more rapid as she heard strange sounds erupting behind her in the quiet woods. It sounded like the ground was being ripped up behind her, like wood was being snapped and broken, and old things were moving once more.

Kairi had never felt such a primitive fear before. It was like the feeling she got when she was a little girl alone in her house at night. The feeling that the unknown was waiting for her to slip up, hoping to grab hold of her as she ran to the safety of her bed. Like bad things in the dark were out to get her.

She couldn't hold in the scream when she felt a lone branch slither up her leg.

A root appeared out of nowhere and Kairi tripped over it, flying. She landed hard, the air being pounded out of her.

The noises silenced. The woods grew still again.

Kairi wheezed, shaking all over again. She scrambled up, turning to face the woods behind her, her eyes wild and frantic.

The trees did nothing.

She turned back slowly, only to notice she was in an open space now.

"I don't know what's going on, but th-?" she stopped speaking, noticing something on the forest floor.

On the ground, lay a crumpled, dirty, blue dress.

Kairi's brows furrowed. "What would a dress be doing out here in the middle of the woods? Is there someone nearby?"

She looked around for signs of another naked body before a cold wind rolled through the trees and pummeled her bare skin.

"It's freezing," she gasped, holding herself. The dress looked tempting, now.

She knelt down and eagerly grabbed the dress, looking it over. It seemed to smooth itself out the moment she touched the fabric. The spots of grime that she had noticed before vanished.

She waved off the strange thoughts, reminding herself that it was thoughts like that that made her think the woods were suddenly attacking her.

The dress still had a few blemishes, and a rip in the little apron near the hem, but Kairi was pleased. Better a rumpled dress than being stark naked. She pulled the dress over her head, a strange feeling washing over her. It fell to just above her knees.

As the dress slipped over her head, the bow began to tie itself up behind her waist. She jumped a little, slapping at her back to stop the bow from moving. It just avoided her frantic hands and tied around her.

Kairi swore, swerving around to see the mischievous bow and regretting putting the damn thing on. First the forest was moving, and now her clothes? She definitely should've been in a hospital with all these hallucinations...if she was even imagining it all.

Her feet tingled. She looked down to find her slender legs wrapped in white socks and brown boots. She knew she hadn't been wearing anything earlier and she hadn't put them on with the dress.

"Woah," she said breathlessly. "Things just keep getting stranger and stranger..."

She had half a mind to pull the weird clothes back off, naked or not, but it wouldn't pull itself back up over her head. She tugged and tugged, yet the dress remained. It felt as if it were stuck to her skin. She gave up as soon as she felt the sweat build up on her brow.

Her hands clutched into the front of the dress's apron as she looked around.

Too quiet.

Unnerved, her feet began to move again. Kairi was officially freaked out. Still, she had to sigh happily at the welcoming warmth the dress gave her, the dirt crushing underneath her boots.

The trees began opening up and walking became easier. The forest around her grew in height as she walked by, their leaves blocking out the sky.

"Hello there, red hair."

Kairi jumped violently, turning towards the sound.

A lone smile floated in the air.

"A new day, a new Alice," it crooned. It began to circle her, dauntingly.

"Last Alice had sun hair, new Alice has blood hair, so much blood-like me!" The smile grew into a face, then a body, and before she could blink, Kairi was facing a tall man. Indeed, his hair was a wild red mess. Burn marks riddled his hands and arms, twisting up and down his limbs like a map of scarring. Strange tattoos were inked into his face. His eyes were bright and roved up and down Kairi, like he had never seen a girl before. Kairi was shocked at the sudden appearance, like a magic trick. She opened her mouth to speak before she noticed something twitch on the top of his head.

….Wait a second.

He had cat ears. Actual cat ears. And whiskers. Kairi blinked. Her lips moved to speak but nothing came out.

"What's wrong?" The feline boy asked. "Cat got your _tongue_?"

Kairi felt something warm and coppery fill up in her mouth.

The man pulled up his thin, scarred hand, his long fingers holding a waggling, severed tongue.

Kairi let out a shriek, clapping her hands on her mouth. When she felt her own tongue hit the roof of her mouth, she stopped.

Oh! Her tongue was still there. She was fine. The feeling of blood filling up her mouth still lingered.

The man seemed much more menacing now as he giggled, waving his hand and making the severed tongue disappear. "Like my trick? I have plenty more where that came from." he ensured.

Kairi shook her head vigorously. She didn't know how the guy did it, but no more weird, macabre, tricks.

"Who are you?" Kairi questioned. She felt an itch in her legs, wanting to leave this place, leave this cat-thing behind.

The creature laughed. "Oh, I _used_ to be an Axel," he smirked, " but now I'm something else! Used to, used to...what's the use?" he splayed his arms out, smiling.

Kairi stepped back. He moved forward.

"Oh, I am a scorch mark on the flame, the spot on a clean cloth, the snap of a broken bone," his voice escalated and Kairi shrank away from the volume of it.

"I am the words from the mouths of dead men, I am the knife tip on a needle's point, the cracks in the glass, the blood that weeps from a wound that was never there-" he gasped, looking far off with burning eyes, before 'composing' himself and smoothing back his volcanic hair.

"-Well, I'm _mad_. But you can call me Cheshire, The Cheshire Cat," the man crooned, bowing before Kairi.

Kairi could only stare. Was this guy role-playing 'Alice In Wonderland' in the middle of the woods? She vaguely remembered reading the story as a girl, but she only remembered bits and pieces. Her entire childhood was a bit foggy now, like the car crash. She was certain on one thing though.

This guy was a complete psycho.

Kairi considered running away for a moment. The man was much larger than her, with wide hands and a crazed look. He could easily overpower her. He could hurt her badly if he wanted to. Still, where would she run? She didn't even know where she was, much less where she could go. Where was she? Maybe he could tell her.

She decided to play along. "Hello, Chesire Cat. I'm Kairi," she felt her throat close up as she gave her name, afraid to let this guy know who she was. It was too late now, he had heard her. She continued. "Where are we?"

"You don't look like a Kairi, you look like an Alice," he whispered, circling her and watching closely. She turned around with him, not wanting to lose sight of him.

"I-I'm not her. I don't know any Alice. I'm just...I'm just Kairi." she stuttered, growing a bit fearful. This role-play was going too far for comfort.

"No, you're _definitely_ an Alice. A bloody Alice," he smiled crookedly.

She gulped. "Where are we?"

"A forest." he answered swiftly.

Kairi shook her head. "I kind of meant in a specific way. Like the name of a neighborhood or a county, or even a larger scale like a city or a state or-"

"Scales?!" the man erupted, his cat ears perking up. "Weighing the good bad, reality and fiction, life and Wonderland..."

"Wonderland?" Kairi interrupted.

"Why yes, we are here!"

Kairi shook her head. This couldn't be Wonderland. That place didn't exist, and even if it did, it wouldn't be as cold and eerie as it was here.

But then there had been the moving trees. There had been the strange clothing and sudden hallucinations, there had been the man that was sort of a cat, named Cheshire. She couldn't explain that.

'_I am going crazy,_' she thought.

"How do I get home?" she whispered.

The Cheshire Cat sniffed the air a bit and licked at his hand before answering. "Which you wishes to return to which home? Two different you's, two different homes.

Which one do you wish to return to?"

Kairi shook her head, confused. "There aren't two of me, there's only one. There's just me. Please, just tell me where to go," she was begging now. Begging some rambling, deformed stranger in the middle of nowhere.

"But I see two of you. The you now, and the you before," the Cheshire cat argued.

Kairi wanted to scream, she was so frustrated. "No, please stop the rambling! I just want to get back home, **now**!"

The cat looked her up and down, a solemn look breaking through his smile before he plastered it back on again.

"That-a-way, Alice," he pointed through the trees behind him.

Kairi grinned. She had an answer and a direction. She nodded her head to the man, and moved past him towards the trees.

"Don't stray from the road and watch for the wolves," the Cheshire Cat called out.

Kairi tripped. "_Wolves_?" she sputtered. There were no wolves on Destiny Islands. There were no forests.

The Cheshire Cat shrugged. "There's a lot more than that, babe. And I mean it, watch for the wolves. They can get pretty nasty. I wouldn't worry too much about them, if I were you. I would worry about the shadows."

Kairi stopped to look at him. "Shadows?" she asked.

"Yep," said the Cheshire Cat, pointing to his head. "Got it memorized?"

Kairi blinked, and he was no longer there. She looked around.

Gone. He had vanished. She rubbed her eyes,

What a weird guy. What a weird place.

She began walking in the direction he had pointed out earlier. Before long, she had walked out of the twigs and stones to a large, dirt road. She sighed in relief and stepped out onto it.

Though the trees still loomed overhead, she had enough space to move comfortably and didn't have to dodge rocks or branches every five seconds.

'_Where does the path lead?_' she thought. The sky was growing dark as she trudged along. Shadows of the trees began to spill out onto the road and the sounds of things moving in the woods grew louder.

Kairi shrieked when she felt something run into her foot. She looked to see bundle of brown fur breathing rapidly.

'_A white rabbit?_' she thought.

It zipped up, trying to leap away. It stumbled and fell, probably dazed from the impact. She smiled. At least something here was nice to look at. The cute thing was still falling all over the place when she saw the blood on it's leg. Her smile fell. The leg looked mangled.

A twig snapped nearby.

She froze. Something heavy moved through the trees out onto the road far behind. Turning, she saw a heavy body, panting and drooling.

A memory hit her for only a second. Kairi was at the zoo with an older woman, her mother maybe. She was looking into the wolf pen, marveling. The wolves were only a bit bigger than dogs, tromping around and playing with one another.

She came back to reality. This wolf was massive. It had sharper eyes and giant rolling muscles underneath the furry skin. Its paws thudded heavily on the ground and it's teeth were too big for it's mouth to contain. Even all the way down the road, she could tell it met her eye to eye. In it's claws, a patch of white rabbit fur was stuck. It's ears laid back, a growl thundering in it's throat.

Kairi's feet moved on her own.

She thoughtlessly swooped down to grab the rabbit and clutched the trembling thing to her chest as she raced down the road.

The wolf bounded after them, effortlessly sprinting at great speeds.

Her breaths came out rasping as her legs pushed forward. Her lungs burned and her chest hurt, but the adrenaline dulled the pain as she heard the wolf closing in behind them.

The rabbit scrambled from her fingers and leaped out onto the road. It zoomed to the side of the road and bounded into the woods, leaving Kairi. She didn't stop to grieve, knowing that she could feel claws digging into her back at any second now.

Kairi made for a tree and leaped with all she had, gripping onto the lowest branch. She vaulted her legs up just as the heavy paws came down onto the trunk of the tree, digging claws into the wood. Kairi sat on the branch, looking down at the massive wolf that was snapping and biting at her, trying to sink it's teeth into anything it could. More than once did she feel its paws brush past her legs. Kairi silently prayed for a miracle.

She still didn't know why she was here or how she got there. She could barely remember her life before waking up in the woods. She couldn't die now, without answers, at the teeth of this monster. She wouldn't.

A sharp pain stung her hand. Kairi looked up. A large magnificent key lay in her hand, cutting into it. She released the blade edge and gripped the blue and gold handle. Flowers curled out of the top of the key with edges as sharp as kitchen knives.

"Woah," she exclaimed, mometarily forgetting about the wolf until it slammed into the tree again. The branch shook, and she had to hold on before she fell off.

The key was longer than her arm, and pretty heavy. She gripped the handle and stared the wolf down from the branch. It snapped ferociously at the sight of her new weapon, enraged.

Kairi stood on the shaking branch, holding herself steady against the tree trunk. Leaves brushed past her cheek.

"I don't know how where this…keyblade….came from," she said to herself, voice shaking, "but I'm not afraid to use it."

The wolf's guttural growls and barks drowned out her soft proclamation.

"I'm telling you," she warned with a stronger voice, "don't make me do this!"

The wolf didn't acknowledge the warning, jumping even higher than before to bite at the branch she stood on, making it tremble.

Kairi breathed deep as she looked into the eyes of the wolf. It hungrily looked back, barking louder than ever. It wanted flesh, preferably hers. This was it. Now or never.

She let go of the trunk, both hands gripping the keyblade. She leaped off, aiming her weapon for the wolf's maw. It jumped, baring it's teeth so that it could rip into the falling girl.

Kairi closed her eyes and screamed, pushing down.

She felt the blade dig into muscle, warm sprays hitting her face. The ground came fast, and she tumbled on impact. Quick to gain consciousness, Kairi leapt up and looked around.

The wolf lay on the ground, twitching. She made her way over to it slowly, stepping over it's large legs. She had been right. The thing was colossal.

Her blade stuck up out of the eye socket of the wolf, the brains spilling out onto the dirt. It heaved irregularly, it's tongue lolling and muscles jerking. Blood was everywhere.

Kairi felt numb. She couldn't help but feel some guilt. The once ferocious animal looked pathetic now. She shook her head softly and reached out to grab her keyblade. She didn't miss the blood on her hands as she pulled at the handle, jerking it.

It wouldn't budge. Kairi placed her boot onto the body of the wolf, pulling with everything she had. The blade slid out with a disgusting sound of tearing meat, swinging blood and brains everywhere.

She backed up, looking at her handiwork. The wolf was dead.

Despite all the blood on her, she had no injuries from what she could tell by patting around her body. Everything was in place. The dress didn't get any blood on it, even when her slick, red hands touched it.

She held the pretty keyblade close, wiping it off on her blood-resistant dress. She could see her face in the metal's shine. It had saved her.

"Woah," a voice called out.

Kairi turned, keyblade ready. "Oh!"

It was the rabbit. It began to grow, muscles expanding and fur shrinking, until Kairi was looking into the face of a boy. The boy still had rabbit ears poking out of his messy brown hair, and the same bright blue eyes from before. They were so bright, they seemed almost neon.

The boy looked at the dead wolf, and then at Kairi. His eyes flicked over to her weapon. "Roxas, come look at this," he motioned behind himself, calling someone over.

Kairi lowered the blade, looking on amazed. The rabbit that she had tried to save was really a boy?

A little, horned, black sheep clambered out of the trees and into sight. That grew too, until it was a messy blonde boy with black horns sticking out the sides of his head. He frowned at the wolf.

"Sora, I don't think she needs help." He pointed to her weapon.

"I know!" The brunette bounced around, pointing at Kairi. "Would you look at what she did to that wolf? I only left her for a few minutes to get help, I didn't think she would take it down all by herself."

Kairi tilted her head to the side. "You ran away to get help?" she inquired.

'Sora' nodded energetically. "Yeah! I was hurt already, so I knew I couldn't take the wolf out by myself." He motioned towards his jeans at one of his legs. The fabric was torn as well as the skin, blood dried on his pants. "I went to get Roxas, here. He's got one of those too." Sora pointed to her weapon.

Kairi's gaze lingered on his injured leg before she looked over at her weapon.

"Oh…this thing?" she held it up. "The keyblade?" She looked at them curiously. They had keyblades like her?

Sora nodded while Roxas remained silent. "Funny," Sora said. "We call it that too!" he smiled and Kairi couldn't help but smile back. Sora's smile was infectious. Roxas turned away from them, shaking his head. Kairi's smile fell and she self-consciously pulled her hair out of her face.

"More will come," Roxas reminded them. "They'll smell the blood." He looked to the fallen wolf and then stared over at Kairi. She remembered that she had blood and guts all over her and looked to her feet. Great. She made a first impression similar to a serial killer. Hey, at least she was alive and not dog food right now.

Sora grabbed onto her arm. She jerked away.

"Easy," he said. "You don't want to be on this road at night. Come with us."

Kairi shook her head, remembering Cheshire's instructions.

_Don't stray from the road. Got it memorized?_

"I can't…" she tried, pulling from Sora. He just grabbed her again.

"No, seriously." He said, smile gone. "There are wolves and Heartless crawling all over this place."

"What?" Kairi asked. What was a Heartless? She felt the questions bubbling up inside of her.

"Nevermind now," Roxas called out to them, exasperated. "Sora, let's go. We don't have a lot of time and I can smell them coming now." He looked over at Kairi with a unpleasant look on his face. "If she wants to stay and get mauled, let her."

Kairi gasped. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

Sora shook his head. "Ignore him, c'mon," he pulled her insistently. "We know a safe place. Roxas, help me out here!"

The blonde boy frowned before walking over and taking Kairi's other arm. Together, the two boys steered her off the path and into the woods.

"W-wait," Kairi stammered. "My keyblade is gone! Did I drop it?" she looked back only to be yanked forward again.

"It only reveals itself to you when you need it." Sora supplied. "Hey, what's your name anyways?"

"…Kairi. But why is it gone? Where did it go?"

"You don't need it anymore so it left," Roxas muttered wearily, as if Kairi were the most annoying thing in the world.

She frowned at him. His explanation didn't make sense and his tone was pissing her off.

"Your name is Kairi?" Sora asked, stepping over a branch. "You look like an Alice."

Kairi swerved her head to the other side. "Why does everyone keep telling me that today?" she asked.

The trio was walking towards a large tunnel into the ground, a dirt cave.

Kairi gulped.

"Who is 'everyone'?" Roxas asked with a serious expression.

"The Cheshire Cat," Kairi explained, "he said the same thing."

Roxas's jaw dropped. "Sora-" he began.

"Here we are guys! You were right Rox, I can hear the wolves now. Head on in Kairi," he cheered, pushing her into the tunnel. She tripped and fell, scrambling to stand again. Her head hurt and her legs ached.

"Where are we?" Kairi faced them to ask, for the millionth time that day.

Sora zoomed past her, not hearing the question. He bounded into the tunnel and his joyful shouts grew more and more quiet.

She looked back to Roxas, silently pleading for an answer.

He just looked at her, unsure.

"Where are we? Please." She winced at the pleading sound in her voice.

Roxas firmly grabbed her arm and walked them to the end of the tunnel. "Wonderland," he replied softly.

Sora came into view and waved them over. They stood at the end of the tunnel at the edge of a large hole.

"Rabbit holes are so much fun. You ever been in one Kairi?" he asked, ears perking up. She weakly shook her head. Sora grinned. "Well, you're gonna love this one. Wait till you meet Riku!"

"_Who?_"

"Oh, you know. Riku. He wears a big hat, hangs out with March Hare a lot, drinks way too much tea? No? Well, you're gonna love him, trust me."

And Sora hopped in, falling away into the darkness.

Kairi froze, watching Sora disappear down the hole. No, it couldn't be. Talking animals, mega-wolves, rabbit holes? She knew she was crazy now. Insane.

Kairi looked to Roxas, shaking her head. "Wonderland? Really? I can't believe it…I'm going crazy."

She could hear the sounds of wolves pushing into the tunnel, barking and snapping behind them.

She looked in his face, desperate for a smile, a sign that he was only joking and this was all some giant prank, that she had dreamed up the whole thing, anything! Roxas shrugged.

"Yeah, I didn't believe it either when I found out. And I wouldn't worry too much about being crazy. _Everyone_ is crazy here."

He gripped her hand tightly before pulling them both into the rabbit hole. The hot breath of the wolves was whipped away by the rushing wind, and Kairi felt weightless.

The last thing she remembered was Roxas, looking back at her.


	2. The Strongest Weapon Of All

_"…Hey!"_

The voice seemed so far off.

_"Wake up. Kairi!"_

Kairi groaned, fighting her way back into consciousness. Everything ached, always aching.

"Yeah, that's it! Wake up Kairi," the voice sang out.

Kairi slowly opened her eyes to see the bright face of Sora, the white rabbit from earlier. He looked as energetic and happy as always, eyes popping and smiling wide.

Oh yeah. _Wonderland_.

Kairi coughed. As much as she liked the happy boy- in the short time they'd met- she really didn't feel like acting cheery. It felt as if her spine had been plucked out, reversed, then shoved back in the wrong way. She couldn't feel her legs either. She was pretty sure they could've fallen off and she wouldn't know the difference.

"Sora, back off. Give her some space," a calmer voice cut in.

That had been 'Roxas', right? The rude kid from earlier! Wasn't he a sheep? A black one. Like the nursery rhyme._ 'Ba ba black sheep, have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full….'_

Kairi couldn't help but giggle. Animal people, that's who she was affiliated with now. She would have been certain she was dreaming if not for the pounding ache in her skull.

Sora backed away and took his choking optimism with him, giving Kairi space to breathe. She silently thanked Roxas before sitting up, clutching her head.

"Wasn't it fun?" Sora called from somewhere near her side.

"Are rabbit holes always this…fun?" she muttered, voice thick with sleep. She had never been so frazzled before. She wasn't sure she would be jumping anymore rabbit holes. Ever.

Roxas shrewdly looked her over. "You passed out on the way down."

Sora stared at Kairi, mouth agape. "You passed out?" he inquired. "You fell asleep? Kairi, you missed _everything_," he whined a bit, looking crestfallen. He seemed childlike to Kairi.

She rubbed at her eyes, taking in her surroundings. They were in some strange hallway, full of upside-down pictures and furniture. It looked nonsensical. Fitting for Wonderland.

Gazing over at the two boys, she asked, "I missed everything? What was there to miss? All we did was fall down a hole."

Sora shook his head, wrapping his arm around Roxas's shoulder. "That's what we thought when we first got here, but when Riku convinced us to hang out with him, we had to jump down one. Best thing ever."

Roxas shrugged Sora off, looking reluctant to the physical contact. Sora just grabbed him tighter, grinning. Now that Kairi thought about it, they looked kind of similar. Maybe they were related?

Kairi perked up, her drowsiness fading. Thank goodness! "I don't think I get it. Does something special happen?" She could feel her legs again, wiggling her toes in the heavy boots.

Sora nodded. "You have to see it to understand, y'know? I can't explain it!"

Oh well, looks like she would never know since she wasn't going near anymore rabbit holes. Kairi stood and wiped herself off. Time for some answers.

"So, you guys don't live here? In Wonder-" she paused, struggling to get the words out, "-Wonderland?"

Shadows flitted across their faces, and Kairi suddenly felt like she was broaching a bad subject.

"We didn't always live here," Sora shrugged, releasing Roxas. The blonde slumped away down the hall, hands in his pockets. Looks like he wouldn't be joining this conversation.

"We used to be normal guys. No animal ears," he pointed at his head. Kairi nodded, though she couldn't really imagine Sora without the fluffy white ears. They seemed to fit him.

"We used to live on Destiny Islands," Sora continued. Kairi froze.

"Destiny Islands? _I_ used to live there! We probably went to the same school and everything!" Kairi grinned, jumping up and down. She was finally making some connections in her foggy memory. She vaguely could remember a tropical sun, sandy beaches, and smiling faces. Her home.

Sora chuckled at her sudden joy and began to follow Roxas. Kairi trailed after them.

"Yeah, I guess," he wondered, "but you would've only seen me around in school. Roxas wasn't there for a while."

What? Kairi folded her hands behind her back. Weird. Had he been homeschooled or something?

"Why? Did he live somewhere else?"

Sora shook his head. "Nah, he lived there too. We're brothers. Can you tell?" He grinned at her, pointing towards himself. Kairi smiled back, nodding softly. She really could. They had the same eyes.

Sora's cheeks flamed at the sight of her smile and he continued on with more vigor then before.

"No, he couldn't go to school for a while." Sora waved his hand, leaving the subject behind. Kairi grew curious. Sora seemed like a talker. Why wouldn't he talk about this?

"Anyways, we lived there before. We both were fine until the accidents, and when we woke up, ta-da," he spread out his arms, motioning to the kooky hallway, "Wonderland."

"What 'accidents'?" Kairi asked. Sora's jaw clenched and he grew quiet. Kairi didn't like the look on his face. It didn't fit him.

"Just…accidents." He simply said, cutting off the topic. Kairi huffed silently. Fine.

"Oh. Well, I was just asking because I was in an accident too- before all this." When Sora looked at her curiously, she said nothing. Why share with him what had happened to her when he wouldn't share anything? What was there to hide? They were all stuck in this damn place anyways.

Kairi continued walking, wondering. "What about the ears?" She questioned, reaching for one of his. The furry rabbit ear twitched and avoided her roaming hands without Sora noticing much. "Why are you a rabbit?"

Sora shrugged. "Dunno'. It happened when we got here. We just woke up and it was like, wham, you're a rabbit now. I'm a rabbit, but Roxas is a sheep, or a ram as he likes to say." Sora laughed. "He's the cutest widdle sheep I ever saw!" he called up ahead, taunting Roxas.

Roxas's shoulders slumped even more and he walked faster.

Sora laughed. "Yeah, it's strange isn't it? You wouldn't believe all the kids from the island we've seen around here!"

Kairi slowed. "There's_ more_ of us?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah! We see them all the time. Never really talk to them though. We only hang out with Riku."

She silently noted this 'Riku' character. He seemed important.

"So how did we all get here?" Kairi questioned.

She didn't think that things could get any stranger. A bunch of Destiny Islands kids popping up in Wonderland? Why?

Roxas was suddenly near them and waved his hand, silencing their conversation. "This story is too long to tell here. Let's just find Riku and let her ask all the questions she wants to him. He's been here longer than the both of us."

Sora grinned, approving of Roxas's idea. "C'mon Roxas, I like talking to Kairi. It's not like the wolves are going to jump down the rabbit hole after us! They hate rabbit holes. Don't you like talking to me Kairi?"

She looked over at him and he looked back intently, eyebrows arched. His eyes sparkled mischievously and his mouth was a smirk.

'He's flirting,' Kairi thought vaguely. She liked Sora's attitude and all, and he was pretty cute. She didn't miss the sun kissed skin or the muscles lining his arms and legs under his clothes. He shone like a tropical sun and his smile was bright. Okay, he was_ very_ attractive.

But, things were a little too confusing to be making moves on anyone right now. She still didn't understand even the most basic of things, like what her life was like before the accident. She simply couldn't get distracted now.

Also, Roxas looked pretty sickened by the display.

Kairi opted for a simple smile and replied, "Yeah, I do Sora. But I think Roxas might be right. If this Riku knows more about the situation than any of us, I should probably talk to him instead."

Sora nodded, satisfied. Roxas perked up a bit, walking taller now.

Kairi smiled at both their quirks, walking between them silently.

They walked out of the hallway into an open valley, full of colorful rolling hills and trees here and there. Kairi paused.

It didn't look as eerie here like it had felt back in the woods, but she still felt chills run through her limbs. She didn't trust this place.

They walked on many different paths, running into many strange animals and plants. Kairi could have sworn she saw a clock with wings swoop by overhead, but Sora and Roxas didn't note any change. They ignored much of the wildlife, including the crazy looking signs posted all over the place. Each sign seemed to have twenty different locations tacked on in all directions.

"What's with the signs?" she questioned softly, marveling at one as they strode past.

"Don't pay attention to them!" Sora exclaimed. "They'll lead you in all sorts of crazy places. Each day, they show up in different places at different times."

Kairi laughed, unable to stop herself. It seemed so silly. Useless signs?

"Who has the time to go around changing these ridiculous signs?" she asked.

Roxas cut in before Sora could respond, surprising everyone. He had been silent since he had spoken to Kairi back at the rabbit hole.

"No one is _moving_ them around." he pointed out. "It's this place. Wonderland. It tries to confuse people by changing things around."

Sora snorted. "Roxas, that sounds crazier than this place really is. I'm pretty sure the land isn't doing anything on purpose."

Roxas continued walking with tight lips.

Kairi moved a little closer to him, curious. Roxas's ebony ram horns were sharp, large, and intimidating, but he seemed calm enough.

"Well…if you can't trust the signs, how do you know where you're going?" she responded.

Roxas looked over, jumping a bit at how close she was. He looked away, muttering, "You don't need too many directions here. If I need to get somewhere, I just picture it in my head and start walking. I always end up where I need to go."

Kairi's eyes widened, intrigued. "So I could just imagine Destiny Islands and walk there?"

Sora shook his head. "Nah, don't listen to Roxas. We tried that of course, and ended up in a messy situation. His little theory didn't work. It only works with places in Wonderland."

Sora turned to them, walking backwards. "I still don't get why it works though. It's not like this place can guess where you want to go."

Roxas shook his head, his voice a little quieter now. "Space and time don't work the same here-" he began, but Sora cut him off swiftly.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Expert! I still think this place is just like any other old place…only kookier!"

Sora laughed and skipped off ahead, dodging cracks in the pavement and singing to himself.

Kairi could feel the tension in the air as Sora skipped ahead. Roxas wasn't the most welcoming person to be around, she realized. She was still trying to figure out how to break the heavy silence when Roxas spoke again.

"I think…I think this place is getting to him. He never _used_ to …" Roxas ended.

Huh? Kairi looked over.

His face twisted painfully and Kairi was about to question him before he straightened it out and said nothing.

Kairi stared at him, waiting for an answer, but none came. Roxas passed her up, avoiding her watchful eyes, and moved down the road.

She folded her arms in defeat. These brothers were almost more confusing than Wonderland itself, and that was _saying_ something. Her mind began running rampant with no one to question.

How could they all have ended up in the same place? How did this place even exist? Was it some sort of limbo that they were all stuck in? Kairi knew that truck should have hurt her, yet here she was moving around freely. The fall down the hole should have killed her, and yet Roxas and Sora had bounced back like nothing had happened.

Here blue eyes strayed over to the two brothers.

And what was she to make of them? She was glad that they had helped and all, but they were still strangers. They were animals like the Cheshire Cat had been. She shook off the thoughts. The two boys weren't nearly as frightening as the cat, and they had even risked themselves to save her from the wolf.

_'Even though I didn't need it by the time they showed up,'_ she thought absently.

It wasn't long before she could see a house in the distance. At first she thought it had been her sight tricking her, but Kairi soon realized that yes, the house was as strange as it looked.

The architecture was just as nonsensical as the local wildlife. A chimney stuck out the side, with doors where windows should be and windows where doors should be. The chimney spouted different colors of smoke. The gate surrounding the house was bent and twisted in science-fiction directions, the iron tips threatening instant impalement.

A large table sat in the front yard, covered in teapots, teacups, tea stains, and anything else that had to do with tea. Cups of sugar and milk lay strewn across the place, pieces of cake and pastries laying on the seats. So many seats, she couldn't believe that that many would show up just for tea.

Kairi was amazed at the disorder.

"Riku!" Sora cried, waving his arms.

Silence.

Kairi moved forward as Sora pulled open the large gates, eager to get a close up look of the house.

"Wow…" she whispered, running her fingers down the length of the table. She picked up a small, gold engraved platter with ribbons and birds etched on the rim.

"This is pretty," she said to no one in particular. She was so busy glancing over the detailed plate that she didn't notice the gloved hand reaching out from one of the chairs nearby.

She screamed when she felt a grab at her wrist, dropping the plate. It shattered on the table, but Kairi didn't notice as she tried to jerk back, pulling someone out of the chair along with her. They climbed out, leaping onto the lawn and yanking Kairi closer.

"Sora, who is this?" The voice was deep and angry. For a moment, all Kairi saw was a scowl and a big, green hat.

"Get off of me!" Kairi squealed, leaning back on her heels and squirming.

Sora and Roxas sped over, Sora placing his grip on Riku's shoulder while Roxas gripped Kairi's.

"Relax, Riku! She's a friend."

Riku glanced at Sora and softened his grip, giving Kairi a chance to look at her attacker. He was much taller than the three of them, and that was without the large, worn hat that loomed on his head. It was covered in clock gears and strange metallic dust. Silver hair spilled from underneath the brim, reaching his padded shoulders. He wore a ratty green overcoat with a messy bow planted at his neck. Leather gloves dug into Kairi's skin. His eyes were fiercely green, and enraged.

It looked like the Victorian era had _swallowed_ this guy before puking him back out.

"A friend?" Riku repeated. "Sora, you don't know who she is or where she came from. She could be a shadow, or a pawn, or a spy from the Queen herself, coming to get us all executed!"

His grip tightened as he went on, and Kairi didn't know if she could feel her fingers anymore.

"I'm not a spy! I'm not any of those things, I swear it." She really didn't want to do anything drastic- especially after Sora went on about how much he loved the guy- but if this 'Riku' didn't let her go in ten seconds, he was going to get decked. She couldn't promise all his teeth would survive it either.

Riku seemed to sense her rising frustrations and released her. She stumbled backwards into Roxas, gripping onto him to keep balance.

Riku smiled, waving Sora away and giving Kairi a slight bow.

"My apologies '_friend_', but we can't be too trusting here. If you don't work for the Queen, then why are you covered in red? You look as if you've just finished doing the Queen's dirty work for her."

Red? What was this guy talking about?

"My hair?" Kairi guessed. "That's just the natural color-"

"No," Riku interrupted, "the blood."

Kairi gasped, looking down at her dress. Of course there wasn't any blood on it, it seemed resistant to dirt now. She looked at her arms and hands, seeing the rustic red that had dried all over her.

The wolf.

She snatched a silver platter off of the table and looked into it. Her face was pretty and had a healthy pink, but it looked almost pale with the splatters of wolf blood on her cheeks and neck.

_'How could Sora and Roxas stand to look at that?'_

As if sensing her thoughts, Sora added, "We knew it was all from the wolf. We figured we'd get you cleaned up when we got to Riku's place."

So this was their hangout? Kairi put the platter back on the table and reached for a dishrag nearby, dipping it into a cup of water. She gazed back into the platter and begand scrubbing at her arms and neck. Gross.

Riku looked at her suspiciously. "A wolf?_ What_ wolf?"

"The one I ran into when me and Roxas went to the woods to look for the jabberwocky." Sora said grinning, pointing to his shredded pant leg. Riku noticed it for the first time, eyebrows furrowing.

"You got hurt?" he questioned softly, bending down to get a better look at Sora's leg.

Kairi was a little thrown off by the display of affection towards Sora. He had seemed so angry before.

Sora shook his head. "Only a little. I ran into Kairi and she saved me! At least, until I went to get Roxas, that is. We were coming back to help her out, but by the time we got there, the wolf was dead."

He grinned at Kairi, impressed.

"She killed it."

Riku's gaze shot back to Kairi, the suspicion gone. "Impressive. They aren't easy to kill. Well then! You wouldn't kill the Queen's special pets if you worked for her. She'd have your head for it." Riku smiled broadly, reaching out for Kairi. She backed away.

"I'm truly sorry," he said, and she had to admit, he kind of did seem like it. "I have a home and friends to protect. Here, we are safe from the eyes and ears of the Kingdom but there are still things to watch for. I didn't mean to scare you the way I did."

Kairi nodded absently, looking at his outstretched hand. So they all lived here, and Riku was in charge. She understood his temper from before, but that didn't mean she couldn't still feel her skin bruising from his hard grip.

She cautiously took his hand.

"I-I'm Kairi," she stammered, "nice to meet you."

Riku shook her hand lightly, his expression soft. "I'm the Hatter around here. But friends call me Riku. Nice to meet you, Kairi."

Riku looked her over, wondering at her appearance. "Where are you from, Kairi? And who are you supposed to be?"

Kairi began, ready to find some answers.

"I'm from Destiny Islands, and I don't really know who I'm supposed to be." She looked to Sora and Roxas before beginning again. "I have questions. Sora said you were the guy to ask."

Riku nodded as if he understood, leading Kairi away from the brothers and into one of the chairs near the head of the table. He sat himself down, inviting Sora and Roxas to join them. They refused and strolled into the house, speaking quietly.

"So," he said absently, dipping a plate into a cup of tea before biting into the plate, "what do you want to know?"

It took Kairi a few moments to find her voice again as she stared at the older boy chewing glassware.

"What's going on? There are other kids from the islands here, but no one will tell me why."

"That's because no one knows why." Riku responded swiftly, biting into another teacup. Kairi cringed.

"So what, we all just woke up in Wonderland?"

"Basically…yes."

Kairi slumped onto the table, confused. That wasn't a solid, stable answer. Nothing here was solid or stable.

"Hey, don't frown yet," Riku intervened, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I have a _theory_, if you want to hear it.

Kairi perked up. "Sure." She was willing to hear anything sensible at this point.

Riku sat back, twiddling a shard of teacup in his fingers before continuing.

"Sora and Roxas have only really spoken with me, but when I showed up here, I met more people from the islands. All of them showed up at different times in different ways. I don't know who showed up before me, but I know who came after. All the ones that appeared afterwards had gotten into…accidents back at the island."

"Accidents?" Kairi inquired, leaning in. Riku paused for a second, taking in her sudden interest. She had a cute nature about her, he noted.

"Yes! Barely any of them could remember their lives from before, but all of us remembered at least one thing before we woke up here, and that was usually an accident. Some remember falling off buildings, others remember slipping on flights of stairs. Some remember passing out while others remember being in motor vehicle accidents-"

Kairi inhaled sharply. Car accidents. _Her_.

"After all of their accidents, they woke up here as different things. Surely, you know where you are, don't you?"

Kairi nodded vigorously. "Wonderland."

Riku nodded. "Precisely. Do you know how the story goes? No? Few of us do. Few of us remember anything before this all happened. I, however, remember the story perfectly. And I can't explain why we're in it."

Kairi looked on intrigued, as Riku drew himself closer.

"Something wicked comes this way, I think." He muttered.

"What do you mean?" Kairi questioned. That had sounded strangely ominous and foreboding, giving her the same feeling the forest had.

"Each of us were given Wonderland roles as we arrived here. You can tell, can't you? Sora's the white rabbit. I'm the Mad Hatter. Others are running around here, all of them playing a character from the story. Some woke up with the changes, some stumbled upon an item or a charm and got themselves stuck to it," Riku pointed to his hat, "I couldn't take this damn thing off even if I wanted to."

Kairi gulped. The dress. The one she had found in the woods.

"What happens?" she whispered.

"The roles are beginning to take over. People are starting to lose their own personalities and are adopting their Wonderland roles. Just last month, I saw a girl who was perfectly normal, with only a few rose petals stuck onto her that she couldn't take off. Last week? She turned into a rose. A giant, red, rose."

_'What the hell?'_ Kairi sat back, taking it all in. They were all turning into Wonderland characters?

"Sora is starting to get obsessed with time now, than he had been when he first showed up here. Even me…" he broke off, dropping the shard of teacup he had been about to eat, as if he didn't know what he was doing.

"Even _me_…sometimes when it's quiet, I hear the hat whispering to me. Sounds silly, right? It's not. It's not funny at all when you have little voices whispering in your head, telling you to think crazy things...telling you to do crazy things."

His fists tightened into the tablecloth.

"I haven't slept in _days_. Sometimes I think the only way to get rid of them is to give the Queen my head. You can't talk to dead men."

Kairi gulped hard. The air was heavy and she didn't know how to cut the tension.

Riku sat back, sighing. "Roxas is the only character I can't identify. Wonderland didn't have black sheep. I don't really know why he's even here to be honest."

Kairi tilted her head at that. She didn't remember the story all too well, so she wouldn't know who belonged and who didn't. She felt somewhat glad Roxas was there with them. She felt like he needed to be here in Wonderland with them.

She didn't know about Sora. Since the entire time she had met him, not once had he mentioned time. And what did Riku mean about the wolves being the 'Queen's pets'? Who was the Queen?

And who was she?

"Riku," she began, "what role do I play?"

He smirked at her, propping his heavy boots up onto the table and making the silverware tremble.

"Surely you know the answer to that, don't you?" he jeered at her, making her answer her own riddle.

Kairi shook her head in disbelief, remembering the Cheshire Cat.

_**"A new day, a new Alice."**_

"Alice…" she murmured. "I'm Alice."

Riku clapped in a slow, mocking way. "Congratulations Kairi, you got the main role."

She frowned at him, clutching onto the blue dress. A main role, huh? She didn't know whether she should be happy or pleased.

"What happens to Alice in the story?" she questioned.

"She wakes up and goes on with her life." Riku responded, fiddling with a teacup again.

Kairi grinned. Waking up possibly meant that she could wake up from this crazy dream and be back home in Destiny Islands, her real home.

"That ending doesn't sound so bad to me!" she sang happily, reaching for a strawberry pastry nearby. It honestly didn't. She could go home.

"I don't know Kairi, it was only a theory of mine. And you never know. The Queen might get your head before you go anywhere." Riku's voice came low.

The pastry's journey to Kairi's mouth stopped. The Queen.

"Who is she?"

Riku smiled, liking the new subject they had approached.

"Well, she's only the nastiest, most heartless and tyrannical bitch to ever step on the soil of Wonderland. She executes people at the speed of light, and she doesn't know what the meaning of '_mercy_' is. She's monstrous."

Woah. She sounded pretty awful for a Queen.

"How do you know all this about her? Have you ever seen her?"

Riku shook his head. "No," he admitted, "but I've heard rumors. Rumors that come from the Royal Kingdom itself, a nasty place to be. You think the woods were bad? The Kingdom makes that place look like a playground. You don't want to step in her royal courts. Few that go there ever returns. She's addicted to bloodshed. Just this week, she executed seventeen people."

Kairi was shocked. "Why would she want to kill so many subjects?"

Riku shrugged. "No one knows why she kills, we just know she _does_. She has spies left and right, in both sky, land, and sea. She's a force to be reckoned with, and she must be stopped at once."

Kairi didn't know who would be willing to go up against a woman like that.

"Who can stop someone like her?" Kairi questioned.

"_We_ can_!_" Riku revealed. Kairi jumped.

"Sora, Roxas, and I all have keyblades, and once we get our hands on the jabberwocky, we'll be unstoppable." Riku continued.

A_ jabberwocky_? She had heard Sora mention it was why he and Roxas were iin the woods in the first place. And the keyblades! Kairi remembered her own, wishing she could see it once again. She jumped when she saw it appear in her hand, resting magnificently on the table.

Riku gaped at her shining weapon and gazed at her.

"What's a j-jabberwocky?" she stammered, alarmed by the keyblade and her power to call on it. It was just like Roxas said! It came when she needed it.

Riku leaned in, inches from her, with a crazed look in his eyes.

"A jabberwocky, my dear, is the strongest weapon in all of Wonderland. It was forged from the bones of Bandersnatches and polished with the feathers of the Jubjub bird."

Riku stood up on the table, hands in the air and shouting to the sky.

"It can cut through_ ten men_ in one swing and hold back the force of a shooting star! It has jaws that bite and claws that catch, blades that cut and cords that stretch! It can stop the Queen of Hearts, if Fate permits-!"

Kairi made to leave the table, but froze as Riku glared at her, _**daring**_ her to step away from him.

"And **_you're_** going to help us get it."

* * *

**AN: I'm sorry for such a late update! I'm not dropping the story, it was just i got whisked away from my laptop and the story files for a while. I just got back. Since my winter break ends today, I'll be pretty busy, but I swear to try my best and update at least once every two weeks. Thanks for sticking around! Reviews make the world go round and the writing hand strong, ha!**

** Happy New Years, guys!**


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